Obsidian vs Tangent Notes: Features, Pricing and User Reviews 2026
Compare features, pricing, reviews, and more to make an informed decision
Obsidian
Obsidian is a free note-taking app that connects your ideas using links, creating a personal knowledge network on your device.
Tangent Notes
Tangent Notes is a free open-source markdown note-taking app that helps you explore connected thoughts with visual mapping and sliding panels.
Obsidian
Obsidian is a free note-taking app that connects your ideas using links, creating a personal knowledge network on your device.
Tangent Notes
Tangent Notes is a free open-source markdown note-taking app that helps you explore connected thoughts with visual mapping and sliding panels.
Obsidian
Stores notes locally on your device with full privacy
Links notes together to build knowledge networks
Visual graph shows connections between ideas
Canvas for unlimited brainstorming space
Thousands of free community plugins available
Works offline without internet connection
Plain text files you own forever
Mobile apps for phones and tablets
Supports basic text formatting
Free to use with optional paid services
Tangent Notes
Markdown-based notes stored locally on your device
Wiki-style double bracket links with autocomplete
Threaded sliding panels for navigation history
Automatic visual map of note connections
Sentence-level focus mode for distraction-free writing
Nested tags and to-do checkboxes
Custom query language for advanced searches
Keyboard shortcuts and command palette
YAML front matter, LaTeX math, and code highlighting
Works on Mac, Windows, and Linux
Obsidian
Obsidian is completely free for personal use with all core features included. You get unlimited notes, full plugin access, and complete control over your data at no cost.
For users who want to sync notes across devices, Obsidian Sync offers two plans. The Standard plan costs $4 per month when paid yearly (or $5 monthly) and includes one synced vault with 1GB storage. The Plus plan costs $8 per month yearly (or $10 monthly) with 10GB storage and unlimited vaults.
Obsidian Publish lets you share notes on the web for $8 per month yearly (or $10 monthly) per site, with custom themes and no technical knowledge needed.
The optional Commercial License costs $50 per user yearly for business use, though it became optional in 2025. For one-time supporters, the Catalyst license at $25 gives early access to beta versions and community perks.
Tangent Notes
Tangent Notes follows a simple pricing model: it is completely free, and it always will be. There are no hidden costs, premium tiers, or subscription plans to worry about.
The app is open source under the Apache 2.0 license, which means the code is available for anyone to view, use, or modify on GitHub. The developer, Taylor Hadden, built Tangent for the community and keeps it free for everyone.
Since your notes are stored as plain text files on your own computer, you also avoid any cloud storage fees. You can sync your notes using services you already have, like iCloud, Google Drive, Dropbox, or Git. There is no vendor lock-in, and you maintain complete ownership of your data.